Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,001
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$7,779
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,574
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$46,780
Kept after tax
$39,001
Worth in national money
$38,574
State rank
23
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $46,780, ranking 23 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Arizona, this sits in the middle: 354 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $46,780 the take-home is $39,001, which is worth about $38,574 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $47,510, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona occupies the middle band for cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders: a median of $46,780, ranking 23 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders ranks 354 of 491 occupations in Arizona by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders on its $46,780 median: $39,001 retained after tax becomes $38,574 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $47,510 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,690 |
| This salary | $46,780 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $39,001 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,768 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,349 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,825 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,841 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,780 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,200 and the ninetieth is $58,690 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $39,001, from $46,780, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 354 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,574, the adjusted value of that $46,780 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 354 of 491 in the state.
- The Arizona median of $46,780 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,200 to $58,690. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,001 from $46,780. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 354 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $38,574 — the adjusted value of that $46,780 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 354 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,200 at the bottom tenth to $58,690 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $38,574 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $39,001.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,200 to $58,690) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,574 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $39,001 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.